Bless Me Ultima Character Analysis Essay
The Man-Child
A child is much like a far-reaching scientific experiment. Both are expensive and in constant need of attention. Nevertheless, an experiment can be terminated at anytime. The experiment of child cannot be aborted, and sometimes the Experiment fails when he or she chooses the wrong path. However, for Rudolfo Anaya's "Experiment Antonio" of Bless Me, Ultima, the results are promising. Antonio, as a child, already possesses traits that lead to a good and pure life. He is naturally a mature and wise man-child yearning for knowledge.
Antonio shows a startling maturity. Psychologically, a typical six-year old will suffer serious mental agonies if he or she witnesses the death of four other people. Tony, …show more content…
He is "driven by the desire to make [his] the magic of the letters and numbers" (64) and works hard, "eager to learn the secret of the magic." (76) At school, while others "cry and wet [their] pants" (58), Antonio spends his time in the corner "writing [his] name over and over." (58) Even Ultima praises Tony's willingness to study, saying, "[he] learns as much in one day as most do in a year." (81) However, Tony's drive for knowledge is not restricted to books; he also "[seeks] more answers" (71) about God. He tries in vain to find the answers why people are made to "suffer [for] Old Eve's sin," (196) why " didn't [God] make this earth [free] of evil things" (196), and of why "The Old Man left [Florence] all alone" (195) with no family. By asking these questions, he subconsciously challenges the validity of the church, using the excuse that "[he] is not yet ready to understand" (187) to quell his heresy. Antonio hopes that "when [he] makes communion, [he] will understand." …show more content…
Feeling only "emptiness to the God within him," (221) the " thousands of questions [that] push through [his] mind " are still unanswered after his first communion. (221) God's failure to answer Antonio's questions allows Tony to realize the truths of religion and that his answers cannot be answered by God. "[Antonio] used to think everyone believed in God," but now understands that there are "many gods." (237) His final dream reveals the death of all the faiths and beliefs, and even the "magic of Ultima dies in agony." (244) Now he understands that "if the old religion can no longer answer the questions of the children, then perhaps it was time to change it." (248) Furthermore, from his father, Antonio discovers "most of the things [people] call evil are not evil at all; it is just that [people] do not understand those things and [thus] call them evil." (248) Most importantly, Tony's wisdom is complete once he is aware that "understanding comes with life" (248) and that he is "seeing only parts and not looking beyond into the great cycle that binds us all."
A child is much like a far-reaching scientific experiment. Both are expensive and in constant need of attention. Nevertheless, an experiment can be terminated at anytime. The experiment of child cannot be aborted, and sometimes the Experiment fails when he or she chooses the wrong path. However, for Rudolfo Anaya's "Experiment Antonio" of Bless Me, Ultima, the results are promising. Antonio, as a child, already possesses traits that lead to a good and pure life. He is naturally a mature and wise man-child yearning for knowledge.
Antonio shows a startling maturity. Psychologically, a typical six-year old will suffer serious mental agonies if he or she witnesses the death of four other people. Tony, …show more content…
He is "driven by the desire to make [his] the magic of the letters and numbers" (64) and works hard, "eager to learn the secret of the magic." (76) At school, while others "cry and wet [their] pants" (58), Antonio spends his time in the corner "writing [his] name over and over." (58) Even Ultima praises Tony's willingness to study, saying, "[he] learns as much in one day as most do in a year." (81) However, Tony's drive for knowledge is not restricted to books; he also "[seeks] more answers" (71) about God. He tries in vain to find the answers why people are made to "suffer [for] Old Eve's sin," (196) why " didn't [God] make this earth [free] of evil things" (196), and of why "The Old Man left [Florence] all alone" (195) with no family. By asking these questions, he subconsciously challenges the validity of the church, using the excuse that "[he] is not yet ready to understand" (187) to quell his heresy. Antonio hopes that "when [he] makes communion, [he] will understand." …show more content…
Feeling only "emptiness to the God within him," (221) the " thousands of questions [that] push through [his] mind " are still unanswered after his first communion. (221) God's failure to answer Antonio's questions allows Tony to realize the truths of religion and that his answers cannot be answered by God. "[Antonio] used to think everyone believed in God," but now understands that there are "many gods." (237) His final dream reveals the death of all the faiths and beliefs, and even the "magic of Ultima dies in agony." (244) Now he understands that "if the old religion can no longer answer the questions of the children, then perhaps it was time to change it." (248) Furthermore, from his father, Antonio discovers "most of the things [people] call evil are not evil at all; it is just that [people] do not understand those things and [thus] call them evil." (248) Most importantly, Tony's wisdom is complete once he is aware that "understanding comes with life" (248) and that he is "seeing only parts and not looking beyond into the great cycle that binds us all."